In general, a make-up unit for the lips includes a product in the form of a stick of substantially solid consistency, a moving support, known as a cup, accommodating the product to be applied, a casing and a mechanism allowing the stick to be housed during the storage period, and allowing it to be taken out of its casing with a view to applying the product to the lips.
The structure of this conventional mechanism is however often quite complicated, requiring specialized assembly tooling. Furthermore, the manufacture of a lipstick requires the successive steps of: hot-moulding the stick, releasing from the mold under vacuum, flaming the surface of the stick, and fixing it into a cup. In addition, it is tricky to assemble the cup equipped with the stick owing to the fragility of the stick. Owing to this specialized tooling and to these various manufacturing steps, the cost of such a lip product is high. Moreover, a conventional lipstick unit of this type is not very well able to withstand impacts, for example, during transportation in a handbag. Such a lipstick unit is particularly susceptible to impacts during hot weather.
In order to avoid these drawbacks, there are; a dispensing units for applying products of liquid-to-pasty consistency. This type of product makes it possible to use dyes and/or excipients which are currently not envisageable for this use.
FR-A-1,323,631 discloses a dispenser of cream for skincare, including: a cylindrical body, a cylindrical piston equipped with radial studs located in this body, an operating ring mounted freely and rotatably at the lower part of the body, an outer cylindrical protective casing equipped with a dispensing orifice, an intermediate cylindrical casing equipped with helical grooves and integral with the outer casing, and an internal cylindrical casing integral with the operating ring and equipped with axial slots and also mounted freely and rotatably in the intermediate casing. The piston is mounted so that it can slide inside the internal casing which contains the product to be dispensed, in such a way that the studs pass through the slots to interact with the helical grooves of the intermediate casing. By turning the operating ring, the piston is raised by rotating the intermediate casing, thus dispensing of the product.
This prior art dispenser is limited to products of highly viscous consistency, because a product of liquid consistency would escape through the slots, obstructing the manipulation of the mechanism owing to the soiling of the helical grooves.
Moreover, U.S. Pat. No. 4,323,157 discloses an applicator for cosmetic products of elongate shape having a dispensing orifice cut at an angle. This applicator is designed for the application of an extruded solid product such as a conventional stick of lipstick, and cannot be used for dispensing a liquid product. The dispensing of the product is controlled by a mechanism which can be actuated with just one hand by the user. However, during this actuation, the orientation of the orifice at an angle changes, so that it is not possible to apply make-up to the lips without turning the applicator in one's hand in order to have a correct orientation, for example by using the other hand.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,442,503 also discloses an applicator of liquid lipstick equipped with a supple tip. The dispensing mechanism of this applicator does not allow the product to be dispensed easily by actuation with just one hand.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,374,065 describes an application tip having an application surface including a plurality of orifices, this tip being made of rigid plastic. Application of the product to the lips is therefore lacking in comfort. Furthermore, the application of make-up obtained is uneven and streaky. In addition, the dispensing of the product cannot be controlled with one hand. Furthermore, the product is packaged so that it is in contact with the drive system, leading to a soiling of the latter which may make the applicator unusable.